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Sunday, October 12, 2014

Onwards and Upwards

Sunday afternoon.

Waves washing onto a sunny beach

I am feeling guilty that I have not given a hospital update from Tuesday, because I know how hard it is to get any frontline information on Pomalidomide. I will put that right at the end of this post, so you can choose what you want to read about.

Knitting
It is Socktober, and I have had a Waiting Room day and a work-related ScotRail day in the past week - loads of time to knit socks!

My evening knitting time has been devoted to the Big Red Doily (it's a blanket really).
Unfortunately, I made a mistake 3 rows back that has disrupted the lace. Oh poo. That's an evening's work wasted, and another couple of hours to sort it out.

So I cast on a Brickless shawl, using the lovely baby llama yarn I bought on holiday in Aberfeldy.

Brickless by Martina Behm in Mirasol Miski yarn

I do so love avoiding my problems :)

Spinning
Yesterday I spun up the last of my sample of Glam Rock merino / nylon from Fondant Fibre on my Turkish spindle.
I need to ply it, and then I hope to use it for a contrast stripe in a simple hat.
Maybe the Paros Hat from the latest issue of Knitscene (Winter 2014).

Myeloma Update
FL saw the Consultant on Tuesday. Her approach is always fairly brisk and to the point.
She said that his Freelite score is now 150. She interprets that as being "steady". It was 145 the month before.
Now, I tend to view that as a slight rise, but I understand that if she reports two increases it will trigger the NHS to stop funding Pomalidomide. I was feeling brave and asked her if there was a "magic number"?
It is not that simple. If there is "evidence of progression of his myeloma" they will stop the Pomalidomide. That evidence might not be his Freelite score (which is always a month behind anyway due to the delay in getting back the results), but could be evidence from an x ray or a report of pain beyond the scope of his existing painkiller prescription.
So... how is he?
He has pain in his ribs, which gets worse after his weekly dose of dexamethasone. Taking a deep breath is painful, coughing is to be avoided, and he cannot lie on his left side.
Walking is increasingly difficult: he has a pronounced stoop and a limp that wasn't apparent 3 months ago. The limp is caused by a deadening of feeling in one foot, and "trouble" in one hip. He can still drive, but he admits this is becoming difficult.
All of these symptoms are consistent with his myeloma diagnosis. He does not appear to have suffered any side-effects from the Pom to date.
The Consultant explained that they could x ray all of the above, and give him radiotherapy if there is evidence of new myeloma lesions. However, this would also require them to stop the Pom...
Is the pain controllable?
Yes. He only takes painkillers in extremis and he is not yet having to take them all the time.
So it was decided to continue with Pom for another month and take it from there.

5 comments:

I must admit I skipped to the update on Fl then read the rest as I was worried. Sending vibes for continuing steadiness and that painkiller use remains stable. Both of you in my thoughts as always. Loving the knitting xxx

About Me

The Roobeedoo blog centred on my relationship with my First Love (FL), while pondering a creative life.
In January 2016, eight and a half years after receiving his Multiple Myeloma diagnosis, my dear FL died.
I am starting again as The New Roo.